For Memorial Day this year, I traveled to Iceland with my friends Jonas and Peter. We figured we’d go since the credit crisis has made this once far-too-expensive vacation destination quite affordable. If it was any indication that we were right, on our first day in Reykjavik, the owner of our hotel greeted us by telling us, “I have good news, and, possibly, more good news: the bank has foreclosed on my other property and they don’t want anyone there, so instead of giving you one apartment you can now have two.” I don’t know how the foreclosure qualified as good news, but getting a two-instead-of-one deal was only the beginning of a great trip.


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Friday, May 22, 2009:

Ony my first day in Iceland, a country known for its fishing industry, I ate minke whale and lobster bisque for breakfast. If you’ve ever wondered what whale meat tastes like, imagine eating something with the texture and feel of steak but with the taste of tuna meat. We also explored Reykjavik at sunset (that is, midnight); and partied with the locals until sunset (about 3am) and beyond.

Saturday, May 23, 2009:

The “Golden Circle Tour” - a visit to the Gullfoss waterfall and the geysers nearby. It is amazing how close they let you get to such a deadly waterfall. Afterwards we relaxed back at our place and headed out on the town.

Sunday, May 24, 2009:

A caving expedition in a lava shaft created millions of years ago underneath the earth in a volcanic valley nearby Rekjavik. The scary part was that our tour guide just let us loose and waited at the entrance to the cave and we got horribly lost and had to track back before finding our way out. Later that day we took a pleasant off-the-beaten-path walking tour through Reykjavik and relaxed back at our hotel.

Monday, May 25, 2009:

A visit to the Blue Lagoon spa before heading to the airport to catch our flight home.

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